Alabama Social Studies SS24.WH.15b
The Standard
- SS24.WH.15
- Trace the progression of the Cold War from the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Evaluate the extent to which efforts to contain or spread communism contributed to global conflict.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain how U.S. military action and Soviet aid shaped fighting in Korea and Vietnam. They weigh those actions against local goals, such as Korean reunification and Vietnamese independence.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how U.S. troops entering Korea changed the war or how Soviet aid helped North Vietnam keep fighting. They can name a local cause and make a supported judgment about which factor mattered more.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think U.S. and Soviet troops fought each other directly in every Cold War conflict. They may overlook the goals of people in Korea and Vietnam, or assume foreign aid always started a war.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: How much did U.S. intervention shape the Korean War compared with Korea's division? Name one U.S. action and one local cause, then explain your judgment.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a Korea map, pairs plot the Soviet-backed invasion, the Inchon landing, and Chinese entry using dated event cards.
Write a claim: Did U.S. bombing or Vietnamese independence goals do more to prolong the Vietnam War? Cite two dated events.
Sort cards for Korean division, Soviet arms shipments, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and Tet into local cause, foreign intervention, or both.
Compare a current map of Korea's demilitarized zone with a 1953 armistice map; circle one lasting result of the war.
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Related Standards
- SS24.5.13
Summarize why the United States sought to contain communism during the Cold War, and locate major communist countries from the Cold War era on a map.
- SS24.US2.9a
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- SS24.US2.13
Explain the evolution of America’s Cold War policy to defend democracy and contain communism around the world and how this led to an escalation in armed conflic...
- SS24.US2.9b
Compare the application of the United States’ policy of containment to various areas of the world outside the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and 1950s.
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